The Brandeis women’s soccer team secured a huge win in Oberlin, OH over the weekend, as the Judges defeated Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) 2-0 in the University Athletic Association (UAA) Conference play. The Judges improve to 9-3 on the season and are 1-1 in the UAA; the Case Western Reserve Spartans, who are ranked number 16 in Division III by the United Soccer Coaches and number 22 by D3soccer.com, fall to 10-2 on the season; they are 0-2 in UAA play.
The Judges connected with the goal off of two very similar plays; Makenna Hunt ‘22 had a foot in both goals, which were scored early on in the first half. In the 13th minute, Hunt crossed the ball from the left of the box to teammate Juliette Carreiro ‘22. Not only did Carreiro give Brandeis an advantage, but she also racked up her seventh goal of the season, tying Hunt for the team lead. In the 16th minute, Hunt found Daria Bakhtiari ‘21, who buried the ball in the back of the net. Bakhtiari’s goal was her fourth of the season. Hunt’s two assists give her a total of four on the season, as she and Carreiro are now tied for the team lead in scoring, each boasting 18 points on seven goals and four assists. This dynamic sophomore duo is tied for fifth in the UAA in scoring.
Brandeis outshot CWRU 7-2 in the first half, and was able to maintain its advantage as both teams were even in the second half with six shots on goal. The Judges controlled the corner kicks, 5-2, and committed 13 fouls, compared to the Spartan’s nine. Goalie Victoria Richardson ‘20 had four stops, which marks her third solo shutout of the season, and the team’s eighth overall. The Spartan’s goalie, Lauren Unterborn, had five stops.
In a message to The Brandeis Hoot, Carreiro wrote, “This past weekend we had a great team win against Case Western. We played great defensively to get a shutout and had really good runs up top. It was nice to get two goals in the run of play.” Defeating Case Western Reserve is the Judges’ first in three attempts against a nationally ranked opponent. “This was such a big win for us because Case Western was a very highly ranked team and it was our first UAA win this season. This definitely gives us confidence going into a big UAA weekend. We are working really hard this week to get prepared for U Chicago and Wash U.”
Next weekend, the Brandeis women’s soccer team will face two more top-25 teams in a pair of UAA home games. On Friday evening, the Judges face number 11/11 University of Chicago at 5 p.m., followed by number 5/5 Washington University in St. Louis on Sunday morning at 11 a.m.
